Did Christ Teach A Trinitarian God?
A TRUE CHRISTIAN OUGHT to be deeply concerned that the God he or she knows and worships is the God taught by Christ. After all, Christians are Christ’s disciples (Acts 11:26) —they ought to follow the teachings that He taught. Consequently, when one professes belief in a God different from the God taught by Christ, he or she, in effect, is being “unchristian.”
It is important to take this into account because there is a popular belief about God that behooves us to look closely in light of the teachings of Christ: the doctrine of the Trinity.
It is important to take this into account because there is a popular belief about God that behooves us to look closely in light of the teachings of Christ: the doctrine of the Trinity.
THE MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY
Trinitarians believe that:
“The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person.”
(Reference: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity, Emphasis Mine)
(Reference: https://www.desiringgod.org/ articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity, Emphasis Mine)
“In this one God there are three distinct Persons, — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are perfectly equal to each other.”
(Reference: The Faith Of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons, Pub: 1904, p. 1, Emphasis Mine)
This formula, as they call it, is common knowledge to and has been the conviction of many people and organizations claiming to be Christians, so much so that those who contradict it are written off as “heretics” and group “cults.”
When it is pointed out that the Trinitarian dogma is incomprehensible and absurd, its adherents summarily dismiss such observation by enunciating without really explaining the Trinity by conveniently expressing that:
“the dogma of the Blessed Trinity is a mystery in the fullest sense’ . . . ‘it cannot be proved by reason, . . . nay, it cannot even be proved to be possible.”
(Reference: Rev. C.F. Blount, S.J., The Blessed Trinity, London: Catholic Truth Society, p.2, Emphasis Mine)
Granting without conceding that the doctrine per se is difficult to explain, the question is: Where did it come from, is it from the Bible and from the Lord Jesus Christ?
Did Christ teach and uphold the doctrine of the Trinity? Being the One sent by God to be believed in so one would not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16), what did Christ teach that people should believe in to gain eternal life? What did He teach about God? Did He formulate and promulgate the doctrine of the Trinity?
ACCORDING TO CHRIST, WHO IS GOD?
In Mark 12:29, Christ stated:
“The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one’.”
(Reference: New International Version, Emphasis Mine)
In this, He recited and affirmed a strictly monotheistic creed declared first by ancient Israel, God’s first nation. It is without an iota of doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ believed and taught that there is one God.
Who is the one God He believed in and taught to others? In the many verses of the Bible (among them, John 20:17; Matt. 24:36; 26:53; Luke 2:49), Christ addressed God as His “Father.”
According to Christ, knowing who the true God is — believing that the Father is the one true God — will lead people to receiving the eternal life (John 17:1, 3). The Father is the one true God that all people ought to believe in and serve.
Surely, when Christ said “one,” He meant one, not two or any other number. Imagine the chaos in communication if “one” really means “more than one.” However, did He by any chance teach that there is one God, the Father, yet with that truth comes an incomprehensible mystery as to God’s true nature and number? Did He preach that there is one God, the Father, yet He still means there is more?
Is God supposed to be one in essence, yet there are other persons co-existing in Him? What about Christ’s teaching about Himself? Did He teach that He is God or a person of the one true God?
ACCORDING TO CHRIST, IS HE GOD?
Is Christ the Father? No, He is not. But, did He, in any circumstance, claim to be God or a person of the one true God? No. Rather, Christ said He was sent by the Father (John 8:42). “He who is sent is not greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16 Bible in Basic English); He and the Father cannot be one and the same, thus, He cannot be God.
Christ Who was sent by the Father is not the same as the Father Who sent Him. The Father Who sent Him and Christ Who was sent by the Father are not equal in power. Moreover, Christ believes in God — His God is the Father (John 20:17) and He cried out to Him when He was on the cross (Mark 15:34). Clearly, Christ is different from the Father; so, He is not God, nor did He ever claim to be God or the second person of God.
What about Christ’s qualities and power? Are these proofs that He is God? His disciples explained that God made Christ as Lord (Acts 2:36). Surely, the One Who makes is different from what He made. God exalted Christ to be Savior (Acts 5:31). Certainly, the One Who exalts is different from the one He exalted. Christ is the Mediator between God and men (I Tim. 2:5). Accordingly, if Christ is the Mediator between God and men, then He cannot be God. If Christ were God and He were on one side and men are on the other, can He still be the Mediator? Is He supposed to mediate His own self to men? This alone shuts the door to the absurdity that Christ is God if He is the Mediator “between” God and Men.
Christ died (John 19:33); whereas God is immortal (I Tim. 1:17). Christ conquered death, yes, but it was God Who raised Him (Acts 2:23-24). The One Who raised is different from the one He raised. From the Bible, we understand that behind all of Christ’s qualities and power is God. In fact, Christ said:
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”
(Reference: John 5:30 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Christ admitted that He can do nothing by Himself and it is the will of the Father that He seeks. If He were God and there is another God Whom He depends on and obeys, how could there be one God? If we are to really listen to the teachings of Christ and His disciples, it is clear that Christ is not God. True Christians should not be deceived by any new terminologies or linguistic acrobatics only to justify a teaching not taught by Christ. Christ can never be clearer in confirming the words of Apostle Peter that He is the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16-17). Never did He claim to be God the Son.
How about the Holy Spirit?
ACCORDING TO CHRIST, IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD?
Christ taught:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.“
(Reference: John 13:16 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
And then, Christ also proclaimed that the Father, the one true God, sends the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). Christ, too, sends the Holy Spirit (John 15:26); while He, the Son of God, was sent by the Father (John 8:42). These teachings prove that the Holy Spirit could not possibly also be the Father, nor be the Son. Clearly, They are different from one another. They are not equal in majesty and power, and never did Christ teach that the three compose the so-called Godhead. The Father alone is God.
Believing that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the one God with three persons is definitely not believing in a beautiful mystery. Rather, it is a terrifying and catastrophic departure from the teachings of Christ and into polytheism. People who claim to believe in it may profess they believe in the truth that there is only one God, but the doctrine they uphold points to an antithesis (opposite) of it.
TRUE CHRISTIANITY IS NOT TRINITARIAN
Christ was not a Trinitarian — this should be abundantly clear. He did not teach, nor even mention about Trinity, its formulation and justification. He taught no new doctrine about God. The God of Whom He speaks of is the one God of Israel. Quoting from the Old Testament writings, Christ clearly declared that the true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt. 22:32). Here Jesus is not speaking of Himself but of His Father. Why are we sure? Because Christ is the servant of God, whom was glorified by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus…”
(Reference: Acts 3:13 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The God of the Old Testament is not Christ because the God of the Old Testament is the same God whom Christ declared as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob while Christ is the “Servant” of God who was Glorified by the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Would our trinitarian friends go as far as to claim that Christ is the God of the Old Testament too? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, while at the same time is a Servant of whom He glorified? If Christ is God is He also a Servant? Does this mean God is a Servant of Himself? Oh, the irony of such absurdity. This is a conundrum Trinitarians have created for themselves that can never be explained other than their common scapegoat that it is a “wonderful mystery.”
The God Christ reveres is also the One Whom true Christians should believe as the one true God because to know who the true God is also means eternal life according to Christ. This is the reason why Christ the Son of God who is the Messiah and NOT god was sent by His Father so He can introduce the one and only true God:
“After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father…
And this is eternal life: to know you, the ONLY TRUE GOD, and the one whom you sent — Jesus the Messiah.”
(Reference: John 17:1,3 ISV, Emphasis Mine)
This verse alone should close all doors to who the true God is. And the mere fact that Christ was “sent” by His Father further proves that the Father is greater than Him. Did Christ not say that “he who is sent greater than he who sent him”? Furthermore, Christ Himself said so:
“…If you [really] loved Me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater and mightier than I am.”
(Reference: John 14:28 AMPC, Emphasis Mine)
The teaching that the Father is the only true God is not something new. Truly, this is not heretical. In fact, it is the true Christian teaching. This is what Christ’s disciples upheld. For them, there is but one God — the Father (I Cor. 8:6). Apostle Paul consistently differentiated Christ from God. He never equated Christ to God. This is not surprising since he learned from Christ. To profess a belief different from what the apostles taught is to claim to know better than those who were able to learn from Christ Himself directly.
The God Whom Christ and His disciples taught is the same God that the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) teaches. It is clear that to Christ, even His disciples during His time, there is only one God — the Father. Christ did not modify but upheld this doctrine. It is only right that the true religion or church upholds it in this modern age, anything else would be heretical. Thus, Christ said:
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
(Reference: John 8:32 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
IN CONCLUSION
1
It is evident and transparently biblically clear that there is only ONE TRUE GOD — The “Father.”
2
Jesus is the Son of God whom God loves (Matt. 3:17 NKJV), not God the Son. Jesus is Lord and Savior only because God made Him Lord and exalted Him (Christ) to His right hand as Prince and Savior (Acts 2:26; 5:31 NIV). Christ’s Lordships and being Savior was not inherited in Him. Christ is also the “one Mediator” between God and men (I Tim. 2:5 NKJV). Christ died and was resurrected by God (John 19:30, 33; Acts 4:10 NIV); He did not resurrect Himself. Moreover, God is immortal (1 Tim. 1:17 NKJV).
3
Christ was sent by God and is God’s Servant whom God glorified (Jn. 20:21; Acts 3:13 NKJV).
4
Christ made it clear that the one who sends is greater than the one who was sent (John 13:16 NKJV), and God sent Christ and the Holy Spirit proving that God is greater than Christ and the Holy Spirit. Christ also sends the Holy Spirit from His Fathers, attesting that Christ is greater than the Holy Spirit (John 15:26). Thus, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are each different and not equal. Moreover, Christ proclaimed that His Father is greater than He (John 14:28). All these biblical testimonies against the very core of what the Trinity doctrine represents, which its true definition states:
“In this one God there are three distinct Persons, —the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are perfectly equal to each other.” (The Faith Of Our Fathers by James Cardinal Gibbons, Pub: 1904, p. 1)
5
WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ. Therefore, do not be deceived, but investigate the truth and learn about “…the simplicity that is in Christ.” (II Cor. 11:3). These teachings presented in the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is the path that leads to eternal life for all on that appointed day of Judgment:
The Truth about God and Jesus Christ
SUPPORTERS OF THE BELIEF in the divinity of Christ, also known as the Christ-is-God or the God-man doctrine, assert that God exists as a trinity consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although they are three in nature and considered distinct beings, proponents maintain that they form a single God. The concept of the Trinity lacks explicit biblical endorsement; thus, proponents often argue that it represents a profound mystery beyond human comprehension and should be accepted by faith alone.
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